HIGH-VOLTAGE SUPPLY UNIT AND CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENT FOR GENERATING A HIGH VOLTAGE FOR A PARTICLE BEAM APPARATUS

• US 20180211815A1
• Filed: 03/19/2018
• Published: 07/26/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Original Assignee: Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Inventors: Fichter, Edgar, Fober, Joerg, Preikszas, Dirk, Hendrich, Christian, Schnell, Michael, Mommsen, Momme
• Granted Patent: US 10,546,717 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/002 Cooling arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/241 High voltage power supply or regulation circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/28 with scanning beams H01J37/268, H01J37/292, H01J37/2955 take precedence

Abstract

The system described herein relates to a high-voltage supply unit for providing an output voltage for a particle beam apparatus, wherein the particle beam apparatus is embodied as, for example, an electron beam apparatus and/or an ion beam apparatus. The system described herein is based on the fact that it was recognized that a bipolar voltage supply unit can be formed by means of a unipolar first current source and a unipolar second current source, said bipolar voltage supply unit enabling a load current in two directions. The high-voltage supply unit according to the system described herein can be operated in the 4-quadrant operation. In the 4-quadrant operation, a first voltage source for supplying the first current source and a second voltage source for supplying the second current source are embodied as different voltage sources.

Claims

12. A circuit arrangement for generating a high voltage for a particle beam apparatus, comprising

at least one high-voltage supply unit for providing an output voltage;

at least one noise suppression unit, which is linked to the high-voltage supply unit by way of at least one link line for guiding the output voltage of the high-voltage supply unit into the noise suppression unit, wherein the noise suppression unit comprises;

at least one noise measurement device for registering noise of the output voltage,

at least one amplifier-filter unit, wherein the amplifier-filter unit is linked to the noise measurement device by way of an eighth line,

at least one control loop, wherein the control loop is linked to the amplifier-filter unit by a ninth line and wherein the control loop is linked to the noise measurement device by a tenth line, and comprises

at least one high-voltage connector, at which the high voltage is present, wherein the high-voltage connector is linked to the control loop by way of an eleventh line.

1. The circuit arrangement as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one high-voltage supply unit includes:

at least one current source for providing a first current,

at least one first voltage source connected to the first current source by way of a first line,

at least one second current source for providing a second current, wherein the second current source is linked to the first current source by way of a second line,

at least one second voltage source linked to the second current source by way of a third line,

at least one adjustment and/or control loop for adjusting and/or regulating the output voltage, wherein the adjustment and/or control loop is linked to the first current source and/or the second current source by way of an optical and/or electronic coupling device, and

at least one feedback resistor, through which a third current flows, wherein the feedback resistor is linked to the adjustment and/or control loop by way of a fourth line, the feedback resistor is linked to the first current source by way of a fifth line, the feedback resistor is linked to the second current source by way of a sixth line, and wherein the feedback resistor, the first current source, and the second current source are linked to a high-voltage connector by way of a seventh line, through which a fourth current flows.

2. The circuit arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the following features is formed at the high-voltage supply unit:

the first current source is embodied as an adjustable current source and the second current source is embodied as a constant current source;

the first current source is embodied as a constant current source and the second current source is embodied as an adjustable current source;

or

both the first current source and the second current source are respectively embodied as an adjustable current source.

3. The circuit arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feedback resistor is embodied as a resistance sequence.

4. The circuit arrangement as claimed in claim 3, wherein

the feedback resistor has n resistors, wherein n is an integer and the n resistors are switched in series,

the feedback resistor has a holder, on which the n resistors are arranged, and wherein

the feedback resistor has a cooling unit, wherein the cooling unit is thermally coupled to the n resistors for a temperature flow between the n resistors and the cooling unit such that a same temperature sets-in between each resistor and the cooling unit.

5. The circuit arrangement as claimed in claim 4, wherein at least one thermally conductive insulation is arranged between the holder and the cooling unit, wherein the thermally conductive insulation is not electrically conductive.

6. The circuit arrangement as claimed in claim 5, wherein the cooling unit is arranged at the thermally conductive insulation in such a way that the cooling unit touches the thermally conductive insulation.

7. The circuit arrangement as claimed in claim 5, wherein the thermally conductive insulation touches each one of the n resistors.

8. The circuit arrangement as claimed in claim 4, wherein each one of the n resistors has an identical embodiment.

9. The circuit arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the high-voltage supply unit has at least one of the following features:

(i) the first current source and the second current source are switched in series;

or

(ii) the output voltage is bipolar.

10. The circuit arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the high-voltage supply unit has one of the following features:

the high-voltage supply unit has at least one feedback unit with at least one capacitive voltage divider, wherein the feedback unit is linked to the feedback resistor;

the high-voltage supply unit has at least one feedback unit with at least one capacitive voltage divider, wherein the feedback unit is switched in parallel with the feedback resistor;

or

the high-voltage supply unit has at least one feedback unit with at least one capacitive voltage divider, wherein the capacitive voltage divider has a first capacitor and a second capacitor, wherein the second capacitor has a capacitance of zero.

11. The circuit arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the high-voltage supply unit has one of the following features:

the first voltage source and the second voltage source are embodied as different voltage sources;

or

the first voltage source and the second voltage source are embodied as a single voltage source.

13. The circuit arrangement as claimed in claim 12, wherein the noise measurement device comprises a voltage divider.

14. The circuit arrangement as claimed in claim 13, wherein the circuit arrangement has one of the following features:

the voltage divider is embodied as a capacitive voltage divider;

or

the voltage divider is embodied as a capacitive voltage divider comprising a first capacitor and a second capacitor, wherein the first capacitor has a capacitance of zero.

23. The circuit arrangement as claimed in claim 8, wherein the output voltage is given by:

15-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A particle beam apparatus for analyzing and/or processing an object, comprising

at least one beam generator for generating a particle beam with charged particles,

at least one objective lens for focusing the particle beam onto the object,

at least one detector for detecting interaction particles and/or interaction radiation, wherein the interaction particles and/or the interaction radiation arise/arises due to an interaction of the particle beam with the object, and comprising

at least one high-voltage component at which a high voltage is present, wherein the particle beam apparatus includes

at least one circuit arrangement having at least one high-voltage supply unit for providing an output voltage, and comprising at least one noise suppression unit, which is linked to the high-voltage supply unit by way of at least one link line for guiding the output voltage of the high-voltage supply unit into the noise suppression unit, wherein the noise suppression unit comprises:

at least one noise measurement device for registering noise of the output voltage, at least one amplifier-filter unit, wherein the amplifier-filter unit is linked to the noise measurement device by way of an eighth line, at least one control loop, wherein the control loop is linked to the amplifier-filter unit by a ninth line and wherein the control loop is linked to the noise measurement device by a tenth line, and comprises at least one high-voltage connector, at which the high voltage is present, wherein the high-voltage connector is linked to the control loop by way of an eleventh line.

22. The particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 21, wherein the particle beam apparatus is embodied as an electron beam apparatus and/or ion beam apparatus.

24. The particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 21, further comprising:

at least one high-voltage supply unit having at least one current source for providing a first current, at least one first voltage source connected to the first current source by way of a first line, at least one second current source for providing a second current, wherein the second current source is linked to the first current source by way of a second line, at least one second voltage source linked to the second current source by way of a third line, at least one adjustment and/or control loop for adjusting and/or regulating the output voltage, wherein the adjustment and/or control loop is linked to the first current source and/or the second current source by way of an optical and/or electronic coupling device, and comprising at least one feedback resistor, through which a third current flows, wherein the feedback resistor is linked to the adjustment and/or control loop by way of a fourth line, the feedback resistor is linked to the first current source by way of a fifth line, the feedback resistor is linked to the second current source by way of a sixth line, and wherein the feedback resistor, the first current source, and the second current source are linked to a high-voltage connector by way of a seventh line, through which a fourth current flows.

25. The particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 21, further comprising:

at least one resistor circuit arrangement having n resistors, wherein n is an integer and the n resistors are switched in series, a holder, on which the n resistors are arranged, and comprising a cooling unit, wherein the cooling unit is thermally coupled to the n resistors for a temperature flow between the n resistors such that a same temperature sets-in between each resistor and the cooling unit